VAUX

This gateway site to the city centre will include office, retail, residential and leisure areas. Central to the plans for phase one is a 59,427sq ft office building, THE BEAM, which stands at the heart of the 5.5 hectare site and looks out on to the Keel Line. There will be up to 19 separate buildings or blocks built over a number of years to create a flagship development for living, working and relaxing.

The masterplan has been designed to provide active streets, with small scale retail, cafes, restaurants and leisure uses occupying ground floors, and trees and planting adding to the attractiveness of each street.

New public spaces are being designed to invite people to enjoy views of the Wear and the bridges, as well as providing space for events such as food and drink festivals and music events.

CREATING CONNECTIONS

One of the key objectives of the masterplan is to provide a scheme which is well connected to the city centre.

The layout of the streets is designed to provide maximum movement through the site, as well as introducing new pedestrian access points onto St Mary’s Way. There will also be a new pathway along the entire edge of the cliff and the Keel Line now runs across the site to connect to this pathway.

LIVING SPACES

The north west corner of the VAUX site is the focus for new homes with fantastic views over the Wear. The Keel Line, a pedestrian link from Keel Square to the cliff-edge will connect the site with the Riverside park, city centre, new developments at the Culture Quarter, the High Street and the Bridges Shopping Centre.

Each street will have its own character, created using distinct materials and landscaping. In total there is provision for over 200 homes in this area.

OFFICES

We aim to provide Grade A office space in Sunderland city centre through the VAUX site. With virtually no Grade A space at present, companies requiring this space are taking their business outside of the city. The site provides a huge opportunity to have a positive impact on the future of the city’s economy and our development proposals incorporate a masterplan which aims to attract investors and create demand, whilst at the same time providing a well-thought out scheme.

The Siglion proposal allows each development block to be built separately, as occupiers and investors come forward, but is flexible so that blocks can be combined to accommodate potential larger space users.

Architects Fielden Clegg Bradley have designed THE BEAM, the first building to complete on site, incorporating a 59,427 sq ft grade A office building designed to achieve BREEAM Excellent environmental rating. The building is a step change in terms of quality for the city and help to attract new businesses and employees to the site. It will be followed by City Hall, with work set to start on this stunning new public sector hub in 2019.

VAUX ‘MEANWHILE’

As the site is developed, spaces will be temporarily landscaped to provide areas for ‘meanwhile’ uses. This will allow the space to be used creatively during the early construction phases, creating interest and activity on the site and keeping it open to the public.